The Truth in their Stars
by mdelpin
Summary: Gray and Natsu grow up as best friends in a small village. When fate attempts to dictate whom they will spend the rest of their lives with, the two of them decide to make their own destiny.


Summary:

Gray and Natsu grow up as best friends in a small village. When fate attempts to dictate with whom they will spend the rest of their lives, the two of them decide to make their own destiny.

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima

Happy Holigays 2019

For: Weissgrayblu

_Natsu and Gray - Age 11_

"Catch me if you can!" Natsu yelled. With their chores finally done, it was time to play. He took off into the forest as quickly as he could, sparing only a second to gauge how far away Gray was.

With a grin, he raced ahead, his boots crunching in the snow, amused at the determined expression on his friend's face. As soon as he was deep enough into the forest, he climbed the nearest tree quickly, waiting to pounce on his unsuspecting friend. He could hear Gray's steps getting closer and tried to stifle his laughs, even as he panted from his exertions.

When a few minutes had passed, and Gray was no closer to reaching his hiding spot, Natsu looked around only to be knocked off his perch by the force of a well-aimed snowball, landing face down in a large snowdrift.

His ears reddened as Gray's laughter assailed him, "Next time you want to ambush me, maybe remember that all the leaves have already fallen off the trees, moron."

Natsu had to admit that had been kind of dumb on his part, so he laughed along, carefully collecting snow underneath him and shaping it into a snowball that he threw at his friend in one fluid motion as he turned over onto his back. The snow hit its target beautifully, covering Gray's smug expression in snow.

"I suppose we should call that a tie," Gray commented as he calmly wiped the snow off his face. He offered his hand to Natsu and helped pull him back up to a standing position. "What do you want to do today?"

"Let's go exploring!" Natsu immediately replied as he did every other time, eyes lighting up with excitement as his mouth widened into a fanged grin that caused a faint stirring in Gray's chest.

"Okay!" Gray agreed, ignoring the strange feeling and once again chasing after Natsu. Together they ran through the trees, occasionally stopping to wrestle and roll in the snow until they were both shivering with cold.

_Natsu and Gray age 18_

Over the following years, the stirring in Gray's chest flourished into a spark, which soon ignited into a full-fledged flame. Every moment spent with Natsu was equal parts enjoyment and torture, especially since Natsu had never given any indication he felt the same way.

Even if he did, Gray would never be able to act on it. They lived in a small traditional village. There had never been two men romantically involved in the entire history of Isvan. Marriages were determined by a ceremony. The village elder would study the stars and consult the gods for every male in the village when they turned five, informing them of who they were fated to marry. The results were accepted blindly. As far as Gray knew, no one had ever gone against the elder's findings.

His own ceremony had gone badly, although he'd never been able to get the details from his parents. All he knew was that whatever the elder had prophesied for him had gotten her kicked out of the village.

Gray had never been too concerned that he was the only one that didn't know the name of his supposed true love. He amused himself with the fantasy that maybe she had named Natsu, and it had caused an uproar.

He'd never thought the ceremony made much sense. He might have lived in Isvan his entire life, but he was well aware that they were but a small part of a much larger world. With so many people in existence, how was it possible the stars would only ever point to people in their own village?

Natsu wasn't from Isvan. Igneel, the village blacksmith, had found him in the woods. He'd taken him in and adopted him as his son when no trace of his family could be found.

He'd had become a large part of Gray's life right away as there weren't many children his age in the village and the thought that he could have missed out on him because of something as silly as geography had always bugged him.

Natsu's arrival and love of exploration had opened up Gray's eyes to the fact that there was so much more to the world than what they were taught. What else was out there? He wanted to find out, to go off exploring with Natsu one day and maybe never come back.

A few days after Natsu's eighteenth birthday, Gray noticed his friend had been quiet, his usually carefree features furrowed into a frown as he sat across from the entrance to the blacksmith's shop.

"I'd offer you a jewel for your thoughts, but I know you're not capable of any," Gray shoved Natsu to the side, making some room so he could sit next to him.

"Hey!" Natsu immediately shoved back, and one of their typical wrestling matches began. Gray was pleased to see Natsu's smile return gradually as they rolled around in the ground, earning annoyed protests from the villagers that were attempting to walk by.

Once their energy was spent, they both sat staring at the blacksmith's shop, occasionally catching glimpses of Igneel as he moved around inside.

"So, what's wrong?" Gray finally asked, not used to so much silence between them.

"Igneel told me the village elder came to see him this morning," Natsu confessed, looking troubled once again, "She wants to perform the stars ceremony on me, says it's well past my time."

Gray found he literally couldn't breathe for a full minute after hearing those words. He knew it was true, all the other boys their age had already begun courting their future spouses, but he and Natsu had lived in this bubble for so long that he'd hoped maybe Natsu would somehow be exempt since he was a foundling.

And of course, his own ceremony had been bungled. As far as he knew, the ceremony had never been performed twice on the same person, so despite the best efforts put forth by the village girls who had yet to be matched to get his attention, Gray had been free to do as he wished.

What would the result of Natsu's ceremony be? Gray dared to hope that maybe he would be called as Natsu's match, even though he knew the odds of this were fairly slim. If it did happen, what would Natsu think of that?

He'd never shown any romantic interest in Gray, at least not that he had been able to tell. Then a worse outcome entered his poor brain, what if Natsu were matched with someone else? Would Gray be able to spend the rest of his life watching the one he loved live out his life with someone else?

But one look at Natsu's face, coupled with the uncharacteristic hug he received before Natsu entered the blacksmith's shop to help his father was all Gray needed to realize that the answer to his initial question was even worse than he'd anticipated.

Natsu was getting ready to leave Isvan, and Gray was faced with a crucial decision. Could he leave everything he knew behind to follow the one he loved?

The answer proved to be simpler than he'd anticipated. Gray would absolutely leave everything behind, but not without at least providing his parents with some sort of explanation.

He asked for their blessing to go seek his fortune, to explore the world that lay past the boundaries of the forest that surrounded them. To his surprise, they encouraged his decision.

And so Gray spent the day packing everything he could think of for the both of them, knowing if Natsu was sneaking out, he might not have the chance to pack very well. At sunset, he bid his parents farewell.

His mother whispered, "Good luck, my darling," into his ear in a way that made Gray wonder if she knew what he was really up to.

Gray arrived at the entrance of the forest he knew from experience Natsu used the most. He put his supplies down and settled in for a wait, leaning against a tree for comfort.

About an hour after he arrived, he began to hear quiet noises, and soon Natsu came into view, moving with more stealth than Gray thought him capable of. His expression was sad, and he stopped every few feet to look back at the village.

Gray didn't like to see him like that, so he did the only thing he could think of. He jumped out from behind the tree he'd been resting against and yelled, "Gotcha!"

Natsu was so startled he managed to fall on his ass, "Bastard!" he hissed in outrage, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Gray grinned and offered his hand, pulling Natsu up once he took it. "I was trying to get that stupid look off your face. Seriously, you looked like you lost your best friend or something."

Natsu refused to meet his gaze, but he muttered, "Don't flatter yourself."

"Ho ho, so that _was_ about me!" Gray teased, "I didn't know you cared."

Natsu glared at him, ready for a fight, as always, "As if. Shouldn't you be home by now?"

Gray went back to the tree and grabbed his bag, strapping it on his shoulders, "And let you go on an adventure without me? Hell, no!"

"How did you—?" Natsu began to ask but seemed to think better of it.

"Know you were taking off?" Gray chuckled, "You are so easy to read, what I don't understand is the why?"

Natsu squared his shoulders and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I'm not about to let some bullshit ceremony decide my life for me."

"Why do you think it's a bullshit ceremony?" Gray asked, already knowing his own thoughts on the subject but curious to hear if Natsu knew something he didn't.

"Yesterday, I was doing deliveries for Igneel when I saw Jude Heartfilia handing a bunch of jewels to the elder. Then all of a sudden, after years of no one caring about whether the ceremony had been performed on me or not, they're demanding I have one?"

They began walking side by side through the forest with no other light but the moonlight and stars to guide their way.

"Hey, Gray?" Natsu asked after a few hours of traveling in silence.

"Hmm?" Gray had been running Natsu's words over and over in his mind. He'd had his suspicions over the years, but he'd never thought money was involved. What could possibly have happened at his ceremony to have the village decide to banish the previous elder? It didn't make any sense.

"How come you haven't started courting _your_ intended yet?"

"I don't have one," Gray said simply.

"I don't understand, I thought everyone did except for me," Natsu peered at him, his eyes as confused as Gray felt.

"We used to have a different elder, I barely remember her. She had pink hair like yours and was always in a rotten mood, but after she did my ceremony, she was banished, and the one we have now took her place. I was never told who my match was, so I guess I'm destined to be alone."

Natsu remained quiet for a few minutes before declaring, "No one is destined to be anything, we get to choose for ourselves. I chose to leave the village rather than submit to a life I don't believe in, and you, well, you decided to come with me." Natsu grinned. "So now that we've made these decisions, where should we go?"

"I've always wanted to see the mountains," Gray mentioned, thinking that was as far away as he knew of, and it would keep Natsu beside him the longest.

"Why stop there?" Natsu asked, his eyes shining as they always did when something excited him.

"Well we should at least stop for the night, we should be far enough away now," Gray pointed out, his eyes beginning to droop with tiredness.

"Alright, I think I see a clearing," Natsu ran ahead, and by the time Gray arrived, he'd already set his pack down and was rummaging through its contents. He grabbed some items and tossed them to Gray, who accepted them gratefully, not shocked at all to see it was food.

Gray dropped his own pack on the ground and sat next to his friend, both munching on the food Natsu had brought. Once it was all done, Natsu lay down on the soft earth, using his pack as a pillow while Gray removed his sleeping bag and laid it out.

"I don't suppose you happened to bring another one of those?" Natsu asked, hopefully.

"You really are an idiot, did you only pack food in that thing?" Gray asked curiously, glad that he had thought ahead to what they might need, afraid of this very same scenario.

"Well yeah, what else would I need?"

Gray pointed at his sleeping bag and rolled his eyes, "It's going to get even colder soon, what were you planning to do when it started snowing?"

"I didn't think of that," Natsu admitted sheepishly.

"Good night, Natsu," Gray muttered as he crawled into his sleeping bag, trying to ignore the sounds of the other's discomfort, too worried his body might betray him if Natsu was sleeping in such close quarters. He fell asleep quickly, tired by all the walking they'd done.

Gray awoke sometime later to hear a loud chattering noise, and he felt terrible, they should have at least started a fire or something. He was the practical one, he should have thought of that. "Just get in here," he grumbled sleepily, "You're going to wake up the bears at this rate."

There was no witty response, just a flash of pink as a freezing cold Natsu crawled into the sleeping bag and settled in behind him, "Th-thanks," Natsu replied, teeth still chattering.

Gray turned around to face him, wanting to get a good look and tried not to laugh at how miserable he seemed.

"You should warm up soon," Gray assured him before turning back around, not trusting himself to not do something physical to warm Natsu up, and perhaps it was only wishful thinking, but he thought Natsu had looked mildly disappointed.

They spent the next day trying to put as much distance between themselves and Isvan as they could, knowing by now Jude Heartfilia must have noticed Natsu's absence and might have decided to try to bring him back.

By the time the sun had set, they were exhausted and thrilled to happen upon a large outcropping of rocks. Their configuration created a sort of cave that would protect them from the brutal wind. Natsu and Gray crawled in eagerly, and after a quick meal of whatever they could quickly get out from their packs in the dark, they nestled against each other inside Gray's sleeping bag, neither bothering to remove any of their heavy clothing. They fell asleep this way, their back's touching. Or at least that's what Gray remembered, but he woke to find Natsu's arm draped carelessly around his middle. Heat rushed to his face as Natsu's loud snores tickled the back of his neck, and he realized that they were spooning.

He snorted at the noise, in all the times they had shared a room, he couldn't remember Natsu ever being that loud as he slept. Gray decided his friend must just be exhausted since he also couldn't imagine Natsu cuddling him willingly either. Still, he allowed himself to enjoy this rare instance of affection.

And that's when he heard it, or rather didn't hear it. The loud snoring had stopped, yet he could still feel Natsu's breath on his neck.

There was a rustling near them, and a low growl that was soon followed by loud sniffing and the sound of ripping canvas. Gray lay very still, afraid he knew exactly what was there even if he couldn't see it. The impression of a cold nose sniffing the air around them helped to reinforce his suspicions.

"Natsu," Gray whispered, gently moving back the arm that was draped over him.

Natsu remained dead to the world, and Gray once again remained quiet, not wanting to draw the bear's attention since it seemed to be enjoying their food. He shook his friend behind him.

"Natsu," Gray whispered a little louder.

"Hmmm, Graaaaay," Natsu finally replied, although the tone of his voice and the sudden shifting of his hips made Gray wonder precisely what kind of dream he was having.

"Natsu," This time, Gray shook him hard enough that he knew there was no way Natsu could sleep through it, and when he felt his friend move sluggishly, he tried to let him know what was going on. "I need you to be very quiet, okay?"

"What's going on?" Natsu whispered back groggily, much to Gray's relief.

"We need to get out of here," Gray managed as calmly as he could, given the circumstances. "There's a bear in here with us."

He didn't get a chance to say anything else as the bear finally ran out of food and became enraged by the noise they were making, Gray tried to unzip his sleeping bag as quickly as possible to give them a way out, but the bear was already charging. Gray had no more time to think. He somehow managed to crawl out quickly, pulling Natsu along with him.

For once in his life, Natsu remained silent, not once complaining about being pulled along by Gray. They both got to their feet and ran as fast as they could with the bear giving them chase.

"Where did it even come from? I thought bears hibernated," Gray complained when five minutes later, the bear showed no sign of slowing down.

"Nevermind that, we gotta find a tree to climb," Natsu's head darted quickly, examining the trees that surrounded them before quickly pulling Gray behind him, "That one!"

Natsu had always been able to climb trees easily, and this was no exception, letting go of Gray's hand he was halfway up the tree in no time, but Gray had never been as good, and now with the added pressure of an enraged bear closing in on them, he couldn't seem to make any progress. He was still stuck on the lowest branch. Natsu scurried down, holding on to the tree trunk with one arm while offering Gray his hand.

"Just go back up, I'll think of something else," Gray assured him, not wanting Natsu to get hurt.

"I"m not leaving you down there!" Natsu grabbed his forearm and pulled him up onto the next branch and continued to help him until they were about halfway up the tree. They were both panting as they hugged the trunk as best they could. Their eyes fixed on the bear that had begun to shake the tree below them.

"I guess we're going to be here for a while," Gray sighed in consternation, but Natsu started to laugh.

"What the hell is so funny?"

"I was just thinking that I'd much rather be here, stuck in a tree with you while avoiding a pissed-off bear, than back home."

"Speak for yourself, idiot," Gray countered, but he was glad it was too dark for Natsu to see the way his words, combined with how they had woken up, had affected him.

"Can I have your belt?"

Gray was confused by the request, but he unbuckled his belt and handed it over, watching as Natsu tied it to their hands then to the tree trunk. "In case we fall asleep," Natsu explained, "It's a long way down."

Somehow they did manage to fall asleep in the tree, with Natsu leaning against the trunk and Gray leaning against him, their hands joined together by the belt, only waking when the sun rose. Thankfully by then, there was no sign of the bear.

Natsu unbuckled them, and they climbed down, feeling all sorts of aches from sleeping in an uncomfortable position.

Gray stretched his arms above his head, looking around to see where they were. Not that he expected to recognize anything, this was the furthest either of them had ever ventured from Isvan.

But the mountains were ahead of them, and they continued to walk towards them.

"We're screwed," Natsu finally declared what they had both been thinking. They'd lost their packs, which had contained all their food. They'd also lost Gray's sleeping bag, which had been the only thing to keep them warm at night. They could ignore the rumble in their stomachs for a while longer, but if they didn't find shelter before nightfall, they might not survive the night.

So when they found the small frozen pond, they decided to try to cross it, hoping to reach the other side while it was still daylight. Natsu went in search of sticks they could use to test the ice before walking on it.

While he waited impatiently for Natsu's return, Gray decided to just test the ice, stepping on it carefully to see if it would bear his weight. When there was no sign of a crack, he moved away from the edge, gliding gracefully once he'd gotten his balance.

He didn't attempt to do any tricks, knowing it would be a disaster without ice skates. He was surprised to see Natsu standing at the pond's edge, watching him with what appeared to be a fond smile.

"I'd forgotten how good you were at that," Natsu called out.

"Well, not all of us can be squirrels," Gray retorted. He liked having Natsu's eyes on him, loved

the attention, and the way his friend was laughing at his lame comeback. He was starting to think that maybe Natsu liked him back.

He beckoned Natsu to come on the ice, showing him it was safe. Natsu stepped on the ice slowly, immediately falling backward as he slipped. He scowled when Gray laughed at him.

"Come on, try again," Gray managed to keep his balance as he helped Natsu get to his feet, holding on to his gloved hand as he encouraged him to use one of the branches he had collected as a sort of walking stick and taking the other for himself.

"Take short steps, and bend forward a little. Like this, okay?" Gray began walking, continuing to hold on to Natsu's hand to help him keep his balance, or so he told himself. "And if you feel like you're going to fall lean your head forward, you don't want to lose what little brains you have left."

"Like you're one to talk," Natsu muttered under his breath as he continued to struggle.

Gray held his tongue, knowing how much Natsu hated to look foolish in front of others. Instead, he squeezed his hand, "Just relax, and do what I do."

Pretty soon, Natsu had gotten the hang of it. Gray could probably have let go of his hand after the first few minutes, but he was enjoying it, and Natsu wasn't complaining.

In this manner, they made their way across the pond, both remaining silent so they could keep track of any noises from the ice. It was slow going, but neither seemed to mind and when they had gotten about halfway, they saw smoke in the sky. It filled them with hope. If they could make it to the other side without incident, they could seek out its source and maybe ask for shelter for the night. They glanced at each other and smiled.

They were almost to the shore when they began to hear a cracking noise. Natsu froze, refusing to move in any direction until Gray deemed it safe. They began to use the sticks to test the ice more and more, but the cracking became louder, and a visible line appeared in front of them. Without even a thought, Gray pushed Natsu as hard as he could towards the shore, trying to keep him from falling in.

It was too late for him though, before he had a chance to move, there was one last loud crack, and the ice underneath him gave way. Gray fell through, managing to keep his mouth shut before he could swallow any water. He was disoriented at first, but there was enough light left in the sky to help him find his way back to the surface, and after a couple of failed attempts, he was able to find the opening.

Gray wasn't able to celebrate this small victory, however, for as soon as his head came up above the water, he soon felt both his heart and his breathing speed up, making him panic. He flailed in desperation, and that's when he saw him.

Natsu was headed back to him, running and screaming at the top of his lungs, "GRAAAAY!"

"St-stay over there, y-you'll only make things worse," is what Gray tried to say, but he was only panting the words out. There was no way Natsu could hear him. He had to get himself under control to show Natsu that he could handle it on his own before the fool ended up in the water with him.

He calmed himself down as much as he could, helped along by the feeling returning to his limbs. Once he managed a deep breath, he was able to call out, "Stay right there, I can get out!"

Natsu listened, although Gray could tell from his stance that it was but a temporary reprieve. He could see the worry in the well-loved features, and it fueled his determination.

Gray tried to grab the ice with his gloved hands, but it was too slippery. He grunted with the effort, his clothes were soaked through, and everything felt cold, but he knew he had to keep trying, Natsu's legs were practically twitching.

This time, instead of grabbing for the ice, he kicked his legs, moving his body as close to the ice as he could manage. He placed his arms on the ice, using them to prop himself up and continued to kick his legs to get as much of his torso as he could manage out of the water and onto the ice.

He could feel Natsu slowly moving towards him now that he was mostly out of the water, and this time he didn't protest. That last effort had exhausted him, and even as he continued kicking his legs weakly, he was afraid of what might happen if he fell back in. Gray felt himself being pulled the rest of the way out until he was on the shore. He had never been so relieved in his life.

"Thank fuck, you scared the hell out of me!" Natsu's breath was coming in pants, and to Gray's confusion, he felt his friend tugging off his clothes.

"What are you doing?!"

"What do you think I'm doing, I'm getting you out of these wet clothes. You're going to freeze to death!"

Natsu ignored all his protests, and soon he was taking his clothes off as well, placing them on Gray to try to keep him warm and then bundling him up in his coat.

"Natsu, you're going to freeze," Gray objected weakly.

"I'll be fine, there's a house up ahead," Natsu reported picking Gray up and carrying him on his back as he ran towards the source of the smoke they had seen from the lake.

Gray saw that Natsu had been right after all, in less than ten minutes they were at the door of a house that seemed to be built into a large tree. Natsu wasted no time, knocking on the door loudly.

"Help!" Natsu knocked insistently until a cantankerous voice could finally be heard.

"What the hell do you want? I didn't move all the way out here to get visitors."

"My friend fell in the pond, he's freezing. Please! He needs to be warmed up." Natsu pleaded even as he continued to knock relentlessly.

"Alright, alright, stop that infernal knocking already!"

The door finally opened, revealing an older woman with pink hair that looked vaguely familiar to Gray. She studied him before snapping at Natsu, "Don't just stand there, you simpleton, come inside. We need to get him near the fire."

She slammed the door behind them, leading them to a large room where a fire was burning. She instructed Natsu to place Gray on the sofa, immediately covering him in a blanket and leaving them alone to go in search of others.

"If you had died because you decided to come with me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Natsu blurted out as he hugged him through the blanket.

"I'm fine," Gray patted Natsu on the head, reassuring him as best he could since he wasn't sure how to react to those words or the hug, "A little time in front of the fire and I'll be good as new."

Their conversation was interrupted by the return of the old lady, her arms full of blankets.

"Where are his clothes?" she barked at Natsu, making him jump away from Gray.

"I left them by the pond," Natsu replied before sitting closer to the fire, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to warm himself up. He was only wearing his pants and boots, having taken everything else off to warm Gray up.

"Go get them," she ordered as she piled blanket after blanket over Gray's still shivering body without offering Natsu one.

"What? You've got to be kidding, it's freezing out there, and he's wearing all my clothes."

"That's not my problem, now go get them before I decide not to let you back in when you return," she shrieked.

"Fine!" Natsu yelled, getting up and slamming the door behind him on his way out.

"Now then, young Fullbuster. This is a fine mess you've gotten yourself into," the woman sounded like a completely different person now that Natsu was gone.

"You know me?" Gray furrowed his brow as he turned to look at the woman.

"I should, you're the reason I was banished from Isvan," her red eyes sparkled with amusement, "Not to mention, you're the spitting image of your father."

"Are you Porly- uhm," Gray tried to remember the rest, but it was a confusing name, and it had been years since he'd heard it.

"Porlyusica. Yes, I am, " Porlyusica smiled kindly.

"I'm sorry, I don't really know what happened, but they shouldn't have banished you for it."

"They never told you?" Porlyusica muttered something under her breath that Gray wasn't able to catch.

"What?"

"Nevermind," Porlysica studied his face intently, looking for what, Gray had no way of knowing, "I imagine you'll want to know the results then?."

Gray thought about it. _Did_ he want to know? When he was younger, he'd been very curious to know what happened, especially as no one would tell him. But everything was different now.

He thought of the last few days he and Natsu had spent together. Even though they had been fraught with danger, he had been oddly content and seeing some of Natsu's reactions had given him hope that it wasn't one-sided, that they might be able to have some sort of future together.

There _was_ one question he needed an answer to, but only Natsu could give him the answer he was searching for.

"I _was_ curious for a long time," Gray admitted, "But now that I'm older, it doesn't matter to me anymore. I don't believe anyone is destined to be anything, I think we are all free to make our own choices, and I've already made mine."

"The stars and even the gods can only give their opinions, but only you can truly know what is right for you. In all my years doing that idiotic ceremony, you are the only one who seems to have grasped that simple concept." Porlyusica grinned at him approvingly, patting him on the head but

making no further comment on the subject, "I'll go make some tea for when the idiot returns."

Gray chuckled, and when he began to feel lightheaded, he buried himself in the comforting weight of the blankets.

They stayed at Porlyusica's treehouse for several days. She was determined to have Gray take it easy until she was sure there were no long-lasting effects from his unexpected swim in the freezing pond.

Porlyusica and Natsu were constantly at odds with each other, their bickering ringing loudly throughout the house. It shocked Gray. Not only did people usually like Natsu, but in all the years Gray had known him, he'd never noticed his friend showing animosity towards anyone before. Even more confusing, Gray had seen that Natsu was acting strangely towards him too, almost as if he were trying to distance himself, and Gray couldn't understand why. And with Porlyusica always there, there was never an opportunity to bring it up.

Once Gray had been deemed healthy enough to travel, they'd left Porlyusica's treehouse behind, continuing to move toward the mountains, which loomed ever closer. Before bidding them farewell, Porlyusica had given each of them a pack filled with as many provisions as she could spare, along with one sleeping bag large enough to fit both of them comfortably.

He and Natsu had walked all day, taking few breaks now that their goal was so close, but by nightfall, they were too tired to continue. They found a spot to camp for the night, and Natsu went off in search of kindling while Gray looked through their bags to find something to eat.

They got a fire going and sat around it in silence. Natsu had been quiet all day as well, only answering when Gray called out to him. It was obvious he was thinking about something, but Gray had no idea how to get him talking.

He decided that if this behavior continued the next day, he would confront Natsu and force whatever this was out of him. For now, he just laid out the large sleeping bag and crawled into it, Natsu followed, and soon they both lay on their backs looking up at the stars, which at the moment seemed closer to Gray than Natsu, who was less than a foot away.

"What are you planning to do once we reach the mountains?" Natsu asked suddenly, sneaking a peek at Gray before staring up at the sky fixedly.

Gray was surprised by the question, he'd thought they'd just keep going, traveling together until they found a place they'd like to live, but maybe he'd assumed too much.

"I don't know, I never really thought past that. The mountains are as far as I know," Gray responded as honestly as he could, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.

"Are you going to go back to Isvan?" Natsu's entire demeanor was tense, and Gray, for the life of him, couldn't figure out what was going on inside his head.

"Why would I want to go back?" Now he was even more bewildered. Hadn't he made it clear he had no plans of ever returning?

"I just thought, now that you know who your intended is, you might want to go back to be with her," Natsu still refused to look at him, but Gray thought maybe they were finally getting somewhere.

Gray sighed, turning to face Natsu, "Is that what this is all about?"

Natsu turned to face him as well but still wouldn't meet his gaze, "It's just, before you didn't think you had anyone, but now you do. It changes everything for you."

"I still don't know actually," Gray replied truthfully.

"Didn't the old hag tell you?"

"She offered the first night we were there, but I told her I didn't want to know."

"But why? I mean, my ceremony was going to be a hoax, but yours was the real deal," Natsu puzzled, his eyes blazing with questions, "That woman may have been a menace, but she was honest."

And with those words, Gray was finally able to connect all the dots. Natsu had been acting weird because he was upset at the thought of Gray leaving him to spend the rest of his life with some girl, and he resented Porlyusica for being the cause of it.

He wanted to laugh but knew it would only work against him, so he decided to reassure Natsu instead. With only the briefest of hesitations, he reached out and caressed Natsu's cheek with his thumb, "I made my choice long ago, Natsu. Whether she confirmed it or not wouldn't have changed how I feel. "

Natsu's entire face had changed colors the moment Gray had touched him, and he tried to turn away, but Gray wouldn't let him, not when they were finally communicating.

"Do you mean, uhm, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yeah, I'm not going anywhere. These past few days have been amazing, I mean yeah, we were chased by a bear, and I fell through the ice, and we stayed with a scary lady, but you were with me through all of it. I can get through anything as long as you're with me."

Gray watched as Natsu's eyes lit up brighter than any star in the sky, his lips slowly stretching into that impossibly wide grin that Gray had always loved. He looked beautiful, and Gray was filled with a strong desire to kiss him, but before he could do anything about it, Natsu had already pressed their lips together.

The kiss was rough and playful and perfectly Natsu, and Gray loved it. He rolled them carefully until Natsu was atop him, allowing him to trace the contours of Natsu's back as they kissed.

Once they separated, Natsu lowered his head to Gray's chest "I'm sorry, I should have asked. I've just wanted to do that for so long."

Gray chuckled, holding Natsu against him and running his fingers through the pink locks, "I'm glad you did, I don't know how long it would have taken me to work up the courage."

Natsu lifted his head, looking into Gray's eyes with wide-eyed honesty, "These last few days all I could think about was you leaving me behind, and I hated it. I hated _her_. I always knew I liked you, but now, after everything that's happened, I think it's grown into something more."

"I love you too," Gray managed to get out before seeking out Natsu's lips, wanting to feel them against his again.

They were just two men kissing underneath the stars, and whether it was right or wrong, Gray couldn't say. He only knew it was right for them. They had found the truth in their stars, and Gray would happily spend the rest of his life following their light.


End file.
